GRIFFIN, Ga. – A Georgia pastor is accused of false imprisonment after police said he was keeping at least eight people against their will in his home about an hour south of Atlanta.
According to the Griffin Police Department, Curtis Bankston, 55, and his wife were using their residence as an unlicensed group home and they locked the people who were staying there in a basement at times.
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Most of the people living in the basement being used as a personal care home were mentally or physically disabled, police said.
The discovery was made after paramedics came to the home last week to respond to a call about someone having a seizure. First responders noticed the door to the basement was dead-bolted and had to get into the basement through a window.
An investigation found that the couple was allegedly operating the unlicensed personal care facility “under the guise” of a church known as One Step of Faith 2nd Chance.
Police said that Bankston and his wife were in control of the disabled individuals’ finances, medications and public benefits, and some of the people were also denied medications and medical care.
By Friday all of the people in the home, between ages 23 to 65, were placed by the Department of Human Services into suitable care and housing, police said, and an investigation was opened into potential neglect and abuse.
Bankston was arrested and he and his wife could face more charges, police said.
“It is both frightening and disgusting to see the degree to which these individuals have been taken advantage of by people who were in a position of trust,” the Griffin Police Department said in a news release. “The City of Griffin, along with DHS, will continue to use any resources available to ensure this does not happen again.”
According to 11Alive, Bankston bonded out of jail and confirmed to a reporter he is a pastor at One Step of Faith Ministries.